Giant Bullfrog
Giant bullfrog, waiting to pounce.
Trains: Blair
Both sides of Blair’s family have worked on the railroad. He has five family members riding the rails.
“I love seeing my brother drive by on the train,” he says.
Blair’s been collecting train memorabilia since he was young. He has an O-gauge train set at home, and the GTs are his favorites.
He’s grateful for the Central Michigan Model Railroad Club.
“I can’t personally work on the railroad because I’m deaf, so this is the next best thing.”
Turtle Power
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle bandwagon started at just the right time for me, just as He-Man and the Masters of the Universe was waning in popularity. As a kid, I needed another franchise: cartoons, movies, toys, video games, the whole thing.
At about nine years old, the Turtles were it. They offered another world to invest in, and boy, did they give it to me.
So when I went to my fraternity brother’s DLux Entertainment Expo earlier this spring, it was slightly weird to realize the Turtles here were not strict about their secret identities.
They weren’t shy about taking off their turtle heads. It was a little bit like the mall Santa taking off his beard in full view of the kids.
But at least they had pizza for lunch, right?
Big Show
Neon Hitch and Mike Posner, performing at Albion College’s annual Big Show concert.
One of my favorite projects to shoot all year.
Trains: Gene
Gene is 85 years old. He’s been seriously collecting trains for more than 55 years. It all started with a $5 set during the Depression.
He served two tours of duty in World War II and in the Korean War.
“When I got home from the service, I started collecting more.”
Since then, he’s been a bit of everything: pest control, fencing (as in fences), antiques.
He’s been with the Central Michigan Model Railroad Club since the beginning, in the 1960s. It’s the tradition – the idea of keeping these old trains alive – that keeps him interested. He likes the G-gauge trains: “The big ones.”
His set is full of moving parts, like a talking car wash, and a tornado that spins around on an old record player.
Gene also collects barbed wire.
F-Stops Here Podcast
Honored to be a part of The F-Stops Here podcast last night. Thanks to Zach and Jamie for having me on to talk about photo projects, Sigma’s Art lens series, and more.
A closer view of Multnomah Falls in Oregon, from a trip to Portland a few years back. Purchase a print.
